Ring rail lowering mechanism for textile spinning frames



March 12, 1963 v H. R. KENNEDY :TAL 3,080,701

RING RAIL LOWERING MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE SPINNING FRAMES Filed May l5,1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HARRY R. KENNEDY BYCHARLES J-ANDER5EN F WM-AilToRNEY TO 1.10 V. AC,

March 12, 1953 H. R. KENNEDY ETAL 3,080,701

RING RAIL LOWERING MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE SPINNING FRAMES 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed May 15, 1961 INVENTORS N -f o1 N HARRY R' KENNEDY CHARLESJANDERSEN PN JWN @n ATTORNEY tates This -invention relates broadly toimprovements in textile spinning frames and more particularly tomechanism for lowering the spinning frame ring rail in a controlledmanner and at a desired rate preparatory to doffing the filled bob-bins.

In order to facilitate the operation of lowering the ring rail of ratextile spinning frame for the purpose of dofling the full bobbins, itis desirable to lower the ring rail at a rate which will not break thespun yarns and yet wind a minimum number of yarn warps around the fullbobbins. ln conventional present day spinning frames, the power to thespinning frame is manually cut ofwhen the bobbins `are full and the ringrail elevated. Next, the ring rail is depressed while power is beingapplied to the spinning frame. When the ring rail is depressed to itslowermost position, it is locked in place and the spinning frame is thenready to have the full bobbins removed for replacement by empty bobbins.With the above-described manual operation, it is possible to wind anexcessive amount of yarn upon the bobbin, thereby creating waste andmaking the bob-bin diiiicult to use. The aforementioned manual operationof the machine is not only laborious but requires some degree of skilland considerable attention on the part of the operator, and it isnecessary to resort to jogging operation of the spinning frame to lowerthe ring rail for doiiing.

The primary object of the invention is to overcome the abovedifficulties through the provision of simplified electromechanical meansdriven from the front draft roll of the spinning machine toautomatically lower the ring rail to the doing position at the desirablerate and to automatically stop the operation of the spinning frame asrequired.

A further object is to provide automatic ring rail lowering means of thementioned character embodying a compact electric clutch and pulley unitfor connection with the lifter mechanism of the ring rail, and directlycontrolling the lowering of the ring rail at the desired rate, said unitadapted to be applied lto existing textile spinning frames or to bebuilt into the same during manufacturing, if preferred.

A further object is to provide novel and simpliiied means associatedwith the electric clutch and take-up pulley unit to releasably lock thering rail in the lowered or bobbin doliing position.

Another object is to provide limit switch means for regulating theoperation of the electric clutch unit in the desired manner.

A further and more general object of the invention is to provide cloningmechanism of the mentioned character which will result in the productionof more uniform bobbins, reduce the time necessary to reset the builderon the spinning frame for the necessary spinning cycle, reduce yarnbreakage during lowering of the ring rail due to controlled loweringspeed and reduce waste by precision setting of cutoff and ring raillowering timing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following detailed description.

ln the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame,

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a Patented Mar. l2,1913.?.`

er ad@ spinning frame, partly diagrammatic, showing the ring raillowering means of the invention applied thereto,

FGURE 2 is a diagrammatic front elevation of the ring rail loweringdevice, ring rail and Weight operated ring rail elevating means,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged central vertical section through the clutch andpulley unit, parts in elevation,

FlGURE 4 is a side elevation of the clutch and pulley unit with thecover plate removed taken at right angles to FlGURE 3 with parts insection,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective View, partly diagrammatic, of thering rail, spindle rail, limit switches and associated elements.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral liti designates aconventional textile spinning frame as a whole, embodying the usualiixed horizontal spindle rail il supporting the spindles 12 whichreceive the bobbins 13. The ring rail ld is disposed above the spindlerail l1 in the usual manner and supported by the usual lifter rods 1Swhich are adapted to impart the necessary traversing motion to the ringrail, as to allow the same to move toward and away from the dofngposition. The yarns 16 being fed to the bobbins i3 pass throughconventional draft roll mechanism 17 on the spinning frame, including afront draft roll it?, from which the ringirail lowering means of thepresent invention is driven as will shortly be apparent. The textilespinning frame liti is conventional and need not be dealt with herein ingreat detail.

With continued reference to the drawings, the numeral 19 designatesgenerally a clutch, take-up pulley and locking hub unit which is theheart of the invention for controlling the lowering of the ring rail 14.This unit i9 comprises a housing 2li of rectangular conguration havingupper and lower chambers 2l and 22 separated by a horizontal wall 23.The housing 2t) is rigidly mounted as at 23' upon the end framestructure lid of the spinning machine itl, in upright position as shownin FIGURE l. The unit i9 is disposed near and below and somewhatforwardly of one end of the front draft roll 1S for driven engagementthereby through existing gearing 1S as indicated in the drawings.

The housing 2@ has a top wall 24 carrying an upstanding tubular boss 25receiving ball bearings 26 having a spacer 27 therebetween. A rotaryclutch shaft 28 is journaled within the ball bearings 26 and heldagainst axial displacement by snap rings 29 or the like. The upper endof clutch shaft 28 carries a first miter gear 30 rigidly secured theretoand constantly meshing with a companionmiter gear 31, keyed to a shortdrive shaft 3l', driven by existing gearing 1S' in direct'proportion toand from the front draft roll 18 of the spinning machine.

An electric clutch 32 of a conventional type has its input rotaryportion 33 rigidly secured at 34 to the shaft 28 to be turned thereby.The output rotary portion 35 of the electric clutch is likewise rigidlysecured at 36 to a rotary pulley shaft 37, separate from the shaft 23,and having its end portions journaled for rotation in ball bearings 38and 39, mounted respectively in aligned openings in the intermediatewall 23 and a bottom wall 40 of the housing 2i). Snap rings l engage theshaft 37 on opposite sides of the lower ball bearing 39 to preventendWise movement of the pulley shaft 37. When the electric clutch 32 isenergized by means to be described, rotation of the shaft 2S istransmitted directly to the shaft 37, Whereas when the clutch iscle-energized, or inactive, the shaft 23 may rotate continuously withoutimparting rotation to the pulley shaft 37.

Rigidly secured to the pulley shaft 37 for rotation therewith is alianged take-up pulley 42 having an upper hub portion 43. The pulley d2is disposed near the bottom of the chamber 22 as shown, while the clutch32 is in the upper chamber 21. The triple bearing support for theshafting of the unit 19 affords an extremely sturdy and durableconstruction.

The pulley 42 is rigidly connected to the shaft 37 for rotationtherewith by a suitable pin 44, as indicated. A flexible wire cable 45of predetermined length is wound upon the cylindrical face 46 of pulley42, which cylindrical face is of such diameter that when the pulley isturned with the shaft 37, it and the cable Wound thereon will cause th-ering rail 14 to be lowered at a rate which is most efficient for theparticular type of yarn being spun. In this connection, pulleys ofdifferent diameters may be employed upon the shaft 37 to vary the rateof movement of the ring rail as found desirable for various makes ofspinning frames.

One end of the cable 45 is firmly anchored by a set screw 47 within aradial opening 48 formed in the pulley to receive the cable end. Severalconvolutions of the cable are wound about the working face 46 of thepulley between the flanges 49 thereof, as shown in FIGURE 4. Theopposite end of the cable 45 leads to and is connected with linkagemeans to be described for directly controlling the lowering of the ringrail 14.

Detent means is provided to releasably lock the shaft 37 and its pulley42 against further rotation when the ring rail has reached its lowermostor bobbin dong position. Such means comprises a locking disc S4) havinga radial notch 51 formed therein for interlocking engagement with a pinextension 52 of a radially shiftable plunger 53, slidably mounted withina sleeve 54, secured at 55 to the forward vertical side wall of thehousing 20. The plunger 53 is urged inwardly radially by a compressiblecoil spring 56 disposed within the bore of sleeve 54 and surrounding theouter reduced stem 57 of the plunger 53, which stem carries a hand knob58 to be used for retracting the plunger radially outwardly against theforce of spring 56. The spring 56 urges the plunger 53 constantlyinwardly and the pin extension 52 rides upon the circular periphery ofthe disc 56 and is adapted to enter the locking notch 51 whenever thesame is turned into alignment with the plunger. The disc 50 has a hubportion 59 on its upper side rigidly secured to the shaft 37 to turntherewith, as by a set screw 69.

A relatively heavy clock-type coil spring 61 surrounds the hub portion43 of pulley 42 and has one end anchored to the pulley at 62 and itsopposite end anchored to the side wall of the casing 20 at 63. Thisspring 61 is tensioned prior to connecting the cable 45 to the pulley 42so as to exert a constant pull or tension on the pulley and cable toprevent the cable from developing slack or becoming tangled during theoperation of the unit 19.

The free end of the cable 45 which leads from the casing 20 through anopening 64 in a removable cover plate 65 for the casing, is suitablysecured at 66 to the top of a quadrant 67, adjustably secured at 67 to abell crank 68', and which bell crank constitutes a standard element ofthe spinning frame. Bell crank is pivotally supported for verticalswinging movement at 68 upon an existing shaft 69', FIGURE 5, of themachine. The bell crank 68 carries on its horizontal arm a liftingroller 69 engaging a bottom cam 70 of the vertically shiftable lifterrod 15, the latter having guided engagement through opening means 71 inthe spindle rail 11. The upper end of the lifter rod 15 is connected tothe ring rail 14 in a conventional manner and carries the same. Theroller 69 thus directly bears the weight of the ring rail 14, impartedthereto through the lifter rod 15 and cam 70. It is to be understoodthat other lifter rods 15 are provided in spaced relation along eachside of the spinning frame to complete the support and guidance of thevertically shiftable ring rails. In the present drawings, for purposesof simplification, only the front side of the spinning frame has beenillustrated and only one pair of lifter rods `15 and associated elementsare shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. This construction is conventional andwell-known to those skilled in the art. As shown in these figures,adjacent lifter rods and their lifting bell cranks 68 and 70 are linkedtogether by horizontal connecting rods 71' connected to the respectivebell cranks, as shown. Weight levers 72' carrying weights 73 are carriedby the rock shafts which support the lifting bell cranks 68 and 70'. Theweights 73 counterbalance the weight of the ring rail 14 and lifter rods15 and normally bias the ring rail towards the elevated position shownindotted lines in FIGURE 1 and shown diagrammaticallyl in FIGURE 2. Thisconstruction is all conventional and need not be dealt with in furtherdetail. As shown ini FIGURES 2 and 5, the cable 45 which is a singlecable leading from the single unit 19 is connected with only onequadrant 67 at the top of one lifting bell crank as illustrated.

As shown in the drawings, a limit switch 72 for limiting the upwardtravel of the ring rail 14 is suitably mounted upon the top of casing 20or in any other preferred manner close to the adjacent end of the ringrail 14, and with its actuator 73 in the path of travel of the endportion of the ring rail 14.

A second switch 80, preferably a roller-actuated micro-switch or thelike, is xedly secured at 81 to the forward side wall of casing 20. Theswitch has an upright plunger 82 carrying an actuating roller 83,spring-loaded upwardly to bear against locking pin eX- tension 52 and toride over a shoulder 84 on plunger 53 when such plunger moves inwardlyunder influence of spring 56, as when the pin extension 52 enters thelocking notch 51. The switch 80 is a normally closed switch, whereas theswitch 72 is normally open and is a time delay switch which will remainclosed for a minimum of one minute, while the ring rail 14 is beinglowered, and then reopens automatically. When the shoulder S4 engagesroller 83, the switch 80 will open to deenergize electric clutch 32 atthe moment when the pin extension 52 and the disc 50 lock the ring rail14 in the lowermost or dofng position, as will be further described. Theswitch 8i) is closed when the roller 83 is on the pin extension 52 andwhile closed maintains the clutch 32 energized or active.

With reference to diagrammatic FIGURE 2, a plug 85 is provided forconnection with a source of ll() volt alternating current. This plug isconnected by a wire 86 with a suitable rectier 87, and from therectifier another wire 88 leads to and is connectedv with one terminal89 of the clutch 32. From the other terminal 90 of the clutch 32 a wire91 leads to and is connected with one terminal of the upper limit switch72. A wire 92 leads from the other terminal of switch 72 and isconnected in series with one terminal 93 of switch 80. The otherterminal of switch 80 is connected with a wire 94 leading back throughthe rectifier 87 to the plug 85, thus completing the circuit through theelectric clutch and the two switches 72 and 80 connected in seriestherewith.

The operation of the invention on the spinning frame 10 for regulatingthe lowering of the ring rail 14 to the dofling position is as follows:

With the spinning frame in full operation for spinning the yarn andfilling the bobbins 13, the ring rail 14 will be elevated to a positionwell above the lowermost doiling position shown in full lines inFIGURE 1. The front draft roll 18 is revolving continuously, as is theshaft 31 connected with the front draft roll through the gearing 1S. Theclutch shaft 28 is also revolving due to the continuous meshedengagement of the gears 30 and 31. The switch 72 is open because thering rail 14 has not yet reached the uppermost extent of its travel andthe clutch 32 is de-energized or inactive, and no rotation is impartedto the shaft 37 and pulley 42 during the normal operation of thespinning frame for winding the yarn upon the bobbins, under control ofthe conventional builder motion, not shown. As is well known,

sheep/o1 Id o3 during the build-ing of the bobbins, the ring rail 14reciprocates vertically through relatively short strokes and each strokeof the ring rail commences at a slightly higher elevation relative tothe bobbins than the last preceding stroke to provide the well-knownfilling wind on the bobbins. During this gradual rising of the ring'rail 14, the same does not influence the limit switch 72,

and this switch is not actuated until the bobbins are completely filledand the ring rail has reached the top of its travel under inr'lnence ofthe builder motion. Furtherrnore, during the normal short strokeoscillation of the ring rail 14, the pulley 42, disc Si) and cable 45will `oscillate back and forth through a correspondingly shortkextension 52 to automatically lock the ring rail in the loweredposition and stop the operation of the spinning frame. During thelowering of the ring rail continuously and in a controlled manner bymeans of the invention, the disc Si) will be turned continuously for onefull revolution or suiciently to bring the notch 51 into alignment withthe locking pin extension 52.

When the bobbins are full, the ring rail 14 is at the uppermost positionshown dotted in FIGURE 1 and also shown in FIGURE 2, and the ring railnow engages the actuator 73 of normally open switch 72 and immediatelycloses this switch to complete the circuit through the terminals of theelectric clutch 32, the switch titl now being closed which is normal forthis switch. The electric clutch 32 is now energized and continuingrotation of the shaft 23 through the energized clutch imparts identicalrotation to the shaft 37, pulley ft2 and locking disc Si?. Rotation ofthe pulley 42 now winds up the cable 45 in a controlled manner andcauses the bell cranks 68 and 7G to swing counterclockwie upon theirpivots or supporting shafts against the action of the weights 73', andthis effects the lowering of the lifter rods 15 and ring rail i4 atprecisely the desired rate of speed, which rate is predetermined by thechosen diameter of the pulley working face 46.

'By the time that the time delay switch 72 reopens automatically afterabout one minute, the ring rail 14 is at its lowermost or doiiingposition, and the reopening of switch 72 de-energizes the clutch 32 andno further rotation is imparted to the pulley shaft 37, even though theshaft 28 continues to rotate while the spinning frame is in operation.At this instant7 the locking notch 51 of disc h is aligned with andreceives the locking pin extension S2 of plunger 53 and the ring rail 14is positively locked in the lowered or .doffng position. The shoulder 84of plunger 53 actua-.tes the normally closed switch St) to open the sameas the pin extension 52 enters the locking notch S1. At this time, bothof the switches 72 and 80 are open and the clutch 32 remainscle-energized.

The full bobbins are now removed from the spindles 12 and are replacedby new bobbins, and the builder mechanism is repositioned in the usualmanner for the next cycle of opena-tion of the spinning frame. When thisis done, the operator merely pulls the plunger 53 outwardly, therebydisengaging the pin extension 52 from notch Sil and releasing thelocking disc 5t). 'Ille switch Sil returns to its normally closedposition as the roller S3 rides onto the pin extension 52. However, theswitch 72 is now open and the electric clutch 32 is still de-energized.The ring rail 14 will now begin to rise automatically under influence ofthe weights 73 toward its lowermost operating position somewhere abovethe doing position to again put the yarn on the bobbins. The electricclutch 32 remains de-energized during the next ycomplete spinning cycleand until the ring rail again fully rises and engages switch actuator 73to close switch 72 and reenergize the clutch 32 to again being thecontrolled lowering of the ring -rail 14 toward the dofling position.

While the ring rail 14 is rising and the lifting bell cranks 68 and 79are turning clockwise on their pivots, the cable 45 is maintained underproper tension by the spring 61 as previously mentioned so that thecable will not tangle, etc.

The locking pin extension 52 does not re-enter the notch Si until thering rail again reaches the dotiing position, and in this connection itmust be understood that the eX- tent of linear movement of the cable 45is relatively small to effect the desired lowering of the ring rail, andthe pulley 42 carrying the disc 50 turns through only one completerevolution, so that the notch 51 ldoes not repeatedly pass the pinextension 52 during the cycle of operation.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, what'is claimed is:

l. In a spinning frame, a ring rail to move toward and from a bobbindofting position, mechanism connected with and carrying the ring railand urging the same normally tow-ard an elevated posi-tion above saiddoing position, draft roll means, a drive shaft connected with anddriven by said draft roll means continuously during the operation of thespinning frame, a ring rail lowering unit secured to the spinning framenear one end of the ring rail, said lunit comprising a clutch shaft,gearing operatively interkthereon and extending from said unit andsecured to said mechanism to actuate the mechanism in .a manner causingcontrolled lowering of the ring rail to said doiring vposition uponrotation of the pulley to wind up the ilexible element when the clutchis energized, a .disc secured to the pulley shaft to turn therewith andhaving a periphery provided with a locking notch, a spring loadedplunger engaging the periphery of the disc and adapted to enter saidnotch to lock the pulley when the ring rail is in said doiiing position,said plunger being retractable from said notch, a normally open switchhaving an actuator arranged in the path of movement of the ring rail andengaged by the ring rail when the latter is fully elevated and connectedin series with the clutch and energizing the clutch when closed bycontact with the ring rail, and a normally closed switch carried by saidunit near said plunger and engageable therewith and opened by theplunger when the plunger enters said locking notch and connected inseries with the normally open switch and said clutch and closed byretraction of the plunger from the locking notch, whereby closing of thenormally open switch by said ring rail and the resulting energizing ofthe clutch causes lowering of the ring rail to the dofng position andlocking of the ring rail in such position until retraction of saidplunger.

2. In a spinning frame, a ring rail, means including a weight operatedbell crank and quadrant connected with the ring rail for elevati-ng thesame, draft roll mean-s, a shaft connected with and driven by the draftroll means, a clutch shaft geared -to said shaft and driven continuouslythereby, an electric clutch including clutch sections which turn inunison while the clutch is energized, one clutch section secured to theclutch shaft to turn therewith, a pulley shaft secured t-o the otherclutch section to turn therewith when the clutch is energized butremaining stationary when the clutch is de-energized, a pulley securedto the pulley shaft, a flexible element secured to the pulley andwindable thereon and secured to said quadrant to swing the quadrant andbell crank in a direction lowering the ring rail when the cable is woundupon said pulley, means to lock said pulley against further rotationwhen the ring rail is fully lowered to the dotiing position, and timedelay switch means in the path of movement of the ring rail and actuatedthereby when the ring rail is elevated to energize the clutch.

3. Mechanism for lowering the ring rail of a spinning machine at apredetermined rate and in a controlled manner comprising a housingsecured to one end of the spinning frame near one end ofthe ring rail,an electric clutch disposed within said housing and including rst andsecond clutch sections which rotate in unison when the clutch isenergized, a clutch shaft journaled uponthe housing and secured to oneclutch section to rotate the same, gearing connected with and drivingthe clutch shaft continuously and driven by draft roll means of thespinning frame, a pulley shaft journaled upon the housing and secured tothe other clutch section to turn therewith when the clutch is energized,a pulley secured to the pulley shaft within the housing, resilient meansinterconnecting the pulley and housing to restrain rotation of thepulley in one direction, rotary locking means carried by the pulleyshaft to turn therewith for positively locking the pulley shaft againstrotation relative to the housing when the pulley shaft is in oneoperative position, means to release the rotary locking means, a cableconnected with said pulley and wound thereon and extending from saidhousing and connected with the ring rail elevating means of the spinningframe in a manner to cause lowering of the ring rail when the pulley andpulley shaft are turned in one direction, and time delay switch meansconnected in circuit with the electrical clutch and arranged in the pathof travel of the ring rail and engaged and actuated thereby to energizethe clutch when the ring rail is elevated so that the clutch may theneffect the lowering of the ring rail.

4. The invention as defined by claim 3, and separate switch means withinsaid housing and connected in circuit with the time delay switch meansand electrical clutch and being normally closed and adapted to be openby engagement with said means to release the rotary locking means.

5. A ring rail lowering device for a spinning frame having a ring railshiftable toward and from a bobbin dofng position and movable linkagemeans tending to elevate the ring rail and rotary draft roll means, saiddevice comprising an electric clutch connected with and driven by saiddraft roll means, pulley means connected with and driven by the clutchwhen the clutch is energized and having positive locking means which isactivated when the pulley means is in one operative position, a flexibleelement connected with the pulley means and windable thereon andconnected with said movable linkage means to operate the same in adirection causing lowering of the ring rail to said dong position, andelectrical means connected in circuit with said clutch and operated bymovement of the ring rail to an elevated position for energizing theclutch to thereby etfect automatic lowering of the ring rail in acontrolled manner and at a predetermined rate and locking of the ringrail releasably in said dofling position.

6. A ring rail lowering device according to claim 5, wherein saidelectrical means comprises a iirst normally open time delay switchmounted in the path of movement of the ring rail and closed by the ringrail when the latter reaches its elevated position and connected inseries with the terminals of the electric clutch, and a second normallyclosed switch connected in series with the first switch and with saidclutch and disposed near said pulley means and positive locking meansand engaged by the latter and opened when the positive locking means isactivated to lock the pulley means.

7. A ring rail lowering device for spinning frames comprising rotaryelectric power transmission means, means drivingly connecting thetransmission means to a constantly rotating part of the spinning frame,rotary pulley means connected with the transmission means to be driventhereby when the transmission means is energized and active andremaining at rest when the transmission means is de-energized andinactive, a exible element connected with the pulley means and windablethereon and adapted for attachment to ring rail elevating means on thespinning frame for causing reverse movement thereof to lower the ringrail, latch means associated with the pulley means to lock the sameagainst rotation when the ring rail is fully lowered, and electricalcircuit means including a time delay switch in the path of travel of thering rail and a second switch engageable with said latch means, saidswitches being in series with the terminals of the electric transmissionmeans for energizing and de-energizing the same according to a desiredcycle of operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,373,263 Rowe Apr. l0, 1945 2,503,099 Culbreath Apr. 4, 1950 2,798,356Christiansson July 9, 1957

1. IN A SPINNING FRAME, A RING RAIL TO MOVE TOWARD AND FROM A BOBBINDOFFING POSITION, MECHANISM CONNECTED WITH AND CARRYING THE RING RAILAND URGING THE SAME NORMALLY TOWARD AN ELEVATED POSITION ABOVE SAIDDOFFING POSITION, DRAFT ROLL MEANS, A DRIVE SHAFT CONNECTED WITH ANDDRIVEN BY SAID DRAFT ROLL MEANS CONTINUOUSLY DURING THE OPERATION OF THESPINNING FRAME, A RING RAIL LOWERING UNIT SECURED TO THE SPINNING FRAMENEAR ONE END OF THE RING RAIL, SAID UNIT COMPRISING A CLUTCH SHAFT,GEARING OPERATIVELY INTERCONNECTING SAID DRIVE SHAFT AND CLUTCH SHAFTFOR IMPARTING CONTINUOUS ROTATION TO THE LATTER, AN ELECTRIC CLUTCHCONNECTED WITH AND DRIVE BY THE CLUTCH SHAFT, A PULLEY SHAFT CONNECTEDWITH THE CLUTCH TO BE TURNED THEREBY IN UNISON WITH THE CLUTCH SHAFTWHEN THE CLUTCH IS ENERGIZED, A PULLEY SECURED TO THE PULLEY SHAFT TOTURN THEREWITH, A FLEXIBLE ELEMENT CONNECTED WITH SAID PULLEY ANDWINDABLE THEREON AND EXTENDING FROM SAID UNIT AND SECURED TO SAIDMECHANISM TO ACTUATE THE MECHANISM IN A MANNER CAUSING CONTROLLEDLOWERING OF THE RING RAIL TO SAID DOFFING POSITION UPON ROTATION OF THEPULLEY TO WIND UP THE FLEXIBLE ELEMENT WHEN THE CLUTCH IS ENERGIZED, ADISC SECURED TO THE PULLEY SHAFT TO TURN THEREWITH AND HAVING APERIPHERY PROVIDED WITH A LOCKING NOTCH, A SPRING LOADED PLUNGERENGAGING THE PERIPHERY OF THE DISC AND ADAPTED TO ENTER SAID NOTCH TOLOCK THE PULLEY WHEN THE RING RAIL IS IN SAID DOFFING POSITION, SAIDPLUNGER BEING RETRACTABLE FROM SAID NOTCH, A NORMALLY OPEN SWITCH HAVINGAN ACTUATOR ARRANGED IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE RING RAIL ANDENGAGED BY THE RING RAIL WHEN THE LATTER IS FULLY ELEVATED AND CONNECTEDIN SERIES WITH THE CLUTCH AND ENERGIZING THE CLUTCH WHEN CLOSED BYCONTACT WITH THE RING RAIL, AND A NORMALLY CLOSED SWITCH CARRIED BY SAIDUNIT NEAR SAID PLUNGER AND ENGAGEABLE THEREWITH AND OPENED BY THEPLUNGER WHEN THE PLUNGER ENTERS SAID LOCKING NOTCH AND CONNECTED INSERIES WITH THE NORMALLY OPEN SWITCH AND SAID CLUTCH AND CLOSED BYRETRACTION OF THE PLUNGER FROM THE LOCKING NOTCH, WHEREBY CLOSING OF THENORMALLY OPEN SWITCH BY SAID RING RAIL AND THE RESULTING ENERGIZING OFTHE CLUTCH CAUSES LOWERING OF THE RING RAIL TO THE DOFFING POSITION ANDLOCKING OF THE RING RAIL IN SUCH POSITION UNTIL RETRACTION OF SAIDPLUNGER.